


Starlight behind the Moonlight

by 0urhappygirl500



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Gen, Multi, Other, Persona 3 AU, i might add more chapter when the original fic update we'll see how things go, no beta's we die like dyslexic men, read the fic this is based on because not only is it good but it will explain a lot of events, this probably goes against a lot of the original authors canon but i liked imagining it like this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 12:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16892472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0urhappygirl500/pseuds/0urhappygirl500
Summary: “come on whose side are you even on here!” Kokichi complained while Hoshiko gave him a soft smile.“Yours Kokichi, always yours”----This is inspired by Starling (StarDandere)'s Persona 3 AU and is basically what Kokichi gets up to with my OC Hoshiko, I was inspiered to write it after rereading 'under the moonlight' for like the 5th time





	Starlight behind the Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [under the moonlight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13224600) by [Starling (StarDandere)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarDandere/pseuds/Starling). 



**April 6, 201X**

 

The window was open for him just like it always was when he came to visit her; surprisingly Kokichi had actually made it back to her room before Hoshiko had or maybe not surprisingly since she had been fighting shadows that night.

 

Hoshiko climbed through her window into her bedroom and upon her arrival Kokichi looked up from whatever he was typing on his phone and gave her a smile, which Hoshiko readily returned. Technically she could have just used the door but this way got her to her room faster and meant more time to be spent with Kokichi and less chance of her missing him.

 

Not that Kokichi would let her miss him; he always waited to at least say hi and goodbye to her. She appreciated that.

 

Kokichi finished whatever he was typing and put his phone away giving her a big smile and motioning for her to sit down next to him “hey Hoshiko-chan! Thanks again for keeping the shadows off me and my new playmate!” Kokichi thanked as Hoshiko just nodded remembering the events of the evening as she had kept the shadows away from Kokichi as a new boy chased him around.

 

“That's fine I’m always happy to help you,” Hoshiko said beaming slightly at Kokichi’s thanks before frowning slightly as worry sprung up in her chest, “but Kokichi… this Saihara Shuichi… are you sure you want to play with him?” Hoshiko asked, she was perfectly fine with Kokichi having other friends, she wanted him to have other friends because more people should realize how amazing Kokichi was but Kokichi was sensitive whether he admitted it or not Kokichi always got attached too easily and had been hurt more times than he deserved.

 

 Kokichi rolled his eyes dramatically at her question before sighing and laying down in an even more dramatic fashion “don’t get jealous Hoshiko-chan you know you’ll always be my favorite!” he told her in a sing song voice as he stared up at her rooms ceiling as always his mind probably thinking of a million different things at once.

 

“Hmm,” she gave a slight disapproving hum at him but couldn’t stop the slight smile forming on her face at Kokichi saying she was his favorite and as always she assented to him and gave a slight nod “alright Kokichi, I’ll trust your judgment on the matter and I’ll always be on your side but… please be careful” she told him as Kokichi gave a huff of amusement.

 

“Please when am I not careful? Don’t answer that!” The order followed the rhetorical question quickly as he noticed her opening her mouth to recite the list. Hoshiko gave Kokichi as slight nod as she moved closer to him; it was best to trust Kokichi’s judgment anyway.

 

She wasn’t jealous of this new playmate of his at all… well maybe just a little bit.

 

**April 7, 201X**

 

Kokichi frowned at his phone as Hoshiko tried to get him to eat more of the bento that she had made him, he never did eat as much as he should he was terrible at taking care of himself sometimes… and all the time.

 

“Hoshiko-chan he keeps leaving me on read” Kokichi whined to her fake tears at the corner of his eyes pushing the phone screen in her face to see the text conversation and for her to clearly see that the new boy hadn’t texted Kokichi back.

 

“Then dump him!” Hoshiko told Kokichi earnestly trying to wipe the tears away from Kokichi’s eyes even though she knew they were just crocodile tears. Kokichi rolled his eyes and gave a huff of amusement as he batted her hands away tears evaporating on their own before he picked up his chopsticks.

 

As Kokichi was about to take a bite of rice though the phone buzzed and Kokichi snatched it up replying immediately leaving the food instantly forgotten as Kokichi typed away.

 

Hoshiko found herself giving the phone a slight glare.

 

   **April 11, 201X**

 

 

“Kokichi I honestly think you’re giving this guy far more attention than he’s worth,” Hoshiko told him as she filmed Kokichis set up a stick of incense on a school desk and cry dramatically. He really should join the drama club or something one day.

 

“Hoshiko-chan there are so many other colours that suite you better than green,” Kokichi said as he reviewed the video nodding to himself as he decided that he was pleased with it.

 

Hoshiko decided to focus on feeling pleased with the fact that she had none a good job rolling her eyes at Kokichi’s comment and pointedly trying not to watch as Kokichi hit ‘send’ on his phone.

 

**April 15, 201X**

 

Hoshiko aimed her cannon in preparation as watched Kokichi lead the group of kids around, maybe kids was a harsh thing to call them but they were armatures to say the least. Hoshiko wanted to sigh but it was important for her to remain out of sight, she had an ability to hide herself, even from those with supportive capabilities it would be embarrassing to get found out by a healer and two guys that haven’t even awakened yet.

 

Kokichi knew she was here and that’s all she needed, that’s all she wanted. She was the insurance in case anything went wrong but if everything went right then only Kokichi and herself would know she had been here tonight.

 

She lowered her cannon as Saihara Shuichi summoned a gun and shot the shadow, acceptable for a beginner but she could have done better she thought and followed the group as they moved further in to Tartarus.

 

Hoshiko didn’t even bother trying to stop the frown that formed on her face as the other boy that had come along with Kokichi summoned a sword and a feeling of wrongness settled in her gut.

 

She always hated these forced awakenings.

* * *

 

“Should I have stepped in?” She asked worriedly the feeling of shame swirling around in her as she followed Kokichi home trailing slightly behind him.

 

Kokichi shook his head and hummed non-committedly as he put his arms behind his head and portrayed every aspect of his body language as casual. “nah, you made the right call Momota-chan barely got a scratch and if they couldn’t have even handled that then they wouldn’t be worth our time” he told her he kept on walking for a few moments only to notice that she had stopped, he slowed to a halt and looked at her curiously.

 

“That’s not what I meant,” she told him after a few moments of silence while his eyes portrayed his confusion at her words and he waited for her to continue “I was talking about when she grabbed you” Hoshiko elaborated guiltily eyeing the slight stain on Kokichi’s clothes from when Akamatsu’s bloodied hands had grabbed him and sent out a silent apology.

 

Kokichi briefly glared at the stain with something close to disgust before sighing dramatically “I would have been upset with you if you had stepped in, Akamatsu-chan isn’t a threat to us and I don’t want to show one of my best cards right at the start” he gave her a little grin but it fell from his face when he noticed that she hadn’t smiled at his compliment.

 

Kokichi groaned loudly and put his hands to his face “Hoshiko-chan it’s fine!” he insisted before turning and resuming walking “now come on it’s late and I want a bath and dinner, I’m staaaarving! I want curry!” he whined in an exaggerated tone as Hoshiko hurried after him relief washing over her.

 

**April 18th, 201X - 4:10pm**

 

Hoshiko wasn’t jealous it was good that Kokichi socialising more, more people needed to see how great Kokichi was but she was really getting sick of these guys interrupting her time with Kokichi when she noticed Saihara Shuichi and Momota Kaito walk in through the entrance of the arcade and briefly she wondered if Kokichi wanted to play games here today because he knew those two were coming.

 

“I should get going,” she told Kokichi picking up her bag.

 

 “What? Nooooo! Stay and play with me Hoshiko-chan!” Kokichi whined hugging her close, she resisted the urge to hug him back and merely shook her head while stroking his hair gently.

 

“It’s okay it’s good you’re socializing more and I’ve got things to do, I kind of need to go food shopping is there anything you want?” Hoshiko asked and Kokichi released her to take a step back and tapped a finger on his chin in mock concentration.

 

“Takoyaki!” Kokichi declared after a moment of fake serious thought and Hoshiko nodded and gave a slight salute at the order. Kokichi gave her a slight searching gaze for a moment before he went over and ran to Saihara and Momota the two of them starting back in surprise as they finally noticed the smaller boy.

 

Hoshiko stayed and watched the three of them for a while before she actually left, if Kokichi noticed he didn’t tell her and neither of them mentioned it later.

 

**May 6th, 201X**

 

“What’s this?” Hoshiko asked looking at a picture that Kokichi had slammed down in front of her.

 

“Just something I want to check out, will you help me Hoshiko-chan?” Kokichi asked his face in a neutral smile.

 

“Always,” Hoshiko said without hesitation, did he even need to ask?

 

**May 20, 201X**

 

It had taken a while but they had finally found what Kokichi had been looking for; she kind of wished they hadn’t.

 

Kokichi let out a few shots with his revolver while Hoshiko dodged and weaved between it’s chains trying to grab it’s attention and keep it as far away from Kokichi as possible, she felt relief wash over her as she saw Kokichi make his way to the exit and parried the shadows chains with her sword.

 

 “Hoshiko-chan we’re leaving!” Kokichi called from the exit but Hoshiko was too focused on the enemy in front of her to give him a response as she jumped to dodge another chain, it would be hard and she’d have to formulate a good strategy but there was a chance that if she played her cards right she could beat this thing, probably, maybe.

 

“Hoshiko-chan!” Kokichi yelled again his voice a mix of worry and desperation and anger cutting through her thoughts, with a sigh Hoshiko summoned her canon and fired as the blast connected she fled to the exit and Kokichi immediately grabbed her arm as soon as she was within reach and dragged her along running through Tartarus not slowing down for a second until they were outside.

 

They stood there in silence for a moment as Kokichi caught his breath, when he finally did he gave an exaggerated wipe of his brow and a dramatic sigh of relief “phew, whoever said ‘don’t fear the reaper’ had no clue what they were talking about”.

 

**May 21, 201X**

Hoshiko had woken to the sound of someone knocking over something in her room, she sighed internally wondering if her grandfather's cat had made it's way into her room again and wondering what exactly Kuro had broken this time. Not that it mattered since she could fix or replace things easily enough.

 

Another part of her sleep addled brain was also wondering how many things in her room she could use as a weapon in case it was an intruder and not Kuro. Hoshiko hoped it wasn't an intruder because she'd feel sorry for that guy.

 

Sitting up Hoshiko finally saw what made the noise and she was suddenly wide awake but all her thoughts left her mind.

 

Blood.

 

There was so much blood.

 

Kokichi was leaning against the wall breathing harder than he should, one of his arms limp at his side while his other hand clutched his shoulder.

 

"Kokichi!" Hoshiko yelled a desperate scream ripped from her throat as she threw herself out of bed and raced towards his side inspecting Kokichi up and down looking for more injuries.

 

God there was so much blood, how did this happen?

 

"Oh Hoshiko-chan! Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you..." Kokichi said trying to sound apologetic and nonchalant though he couldn't hide how strained his voice sounded and the slight glazed over look his eyes where beginning to have. He couldn't hide them from her at least.

 

"What happened" Hoshiko asked desperately already taking one of the bottles of water she kept in her room, to clean his wound. Kokichi winced as the water made contact while Hoshiko drank in the condition of his injuries now that they were easier to see without most of the blood, though that didn't mean the wound had stopped bleeding and there were parts that almost looked burned.

 

"Well you see Hoshiko-chan I kind of ran out of bandages, my fault shouldn't put random shit in the first aid kits I know, so I'm hoping to borrow some of yours" Kokichi joked as she began taking gauze and bandages out for use. She sent him a worried but determined look and repeated her question.

 

"What. Happened?" Hoshiko repeated while Kokichi examined her before sighing.

 

"...I ran into The Reaper again..." Kokichi told her and Hoshiko couldn't tell if he was wincing because of pain or in response to her sharp intake of breath "I wasn't planning on it Hoshiko-chan you know I wouldn't do anything reckless without you there!" Kokichi defended instantly just as Hoshiko pressed down on his wound maybe a little harder than she needed to.

 

"That's a lie," said as she began treating more of Kokichi's injuries.

 

"Only half the time," Kokichi said softly with an almost fond smile on his face before he continued his explanation "I was just off at the dorms to return Saihara-chan's lovely art that he lent me when I noticed him and Akumatsu-chan and Momota-chan going into Tartarus," Kokichi struggled to catch his breath and Hoshiko's expression that had darkened slightly at the mention of Saihara quickly turned to one of concern.

 

"...Anyway I was just watching them and then our friend Mr. Reaper decided to show up too." Kokichi finished in an almost sing song voice giving all the explanation she needed to know what happened.

 

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments as Hoshiko finished tending to Kokichi's wounds before she worked up the resolve to speak again.

 

"You led it away from them?" Though Hoshiko phrased it like a question they both knew it wasn't one, even if Kokichi didn't answer her she already knew the answer. Despite how much Kokichi liked to claim he thought only logically, despite how much Kokichi joked about being evil, he was too emotional, he felt things too strongly and he cared too much.

 

"Yep! I bet you none of them even knew that me OR The Reaper were there tonight," Kokichi said proudly though his carefree voice didn't match the expression on his face or his eyes filled with concern carefully watching her every movement and response. That made Hoshiko both want to laugh and cry at the same time, he was the one hurt, why was he concerned about her?

 

"You're too kind for your own good sometimes" she told him as she got up and Kokichi let out a huff of laughter.

 

"There are a few people that would disagree with you on that, hey where are you going"? he told her before noticing that she was heading for her room's door, Hoshiko paused just as her hand touched the doorknob but she didn't look back as she replied, she didn't trust herself to.

 

"Those people are wrong then and I'm going to get you food and something to drink, you've lost a lot of blood and I don't want you going into shock, stay here please" she told him quietly the last part almost dripping with desperation before Hoshiko flung open her door and rushed downstairs to the kitchen making snacks and preparing juice and tea.

 

As Hoshiko waited for the water to boil she couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face.

 

She was useless. So useless.

 

After everything Kokichi had done for her she couldn't do anything for him, she couldn't heal his wounds, she couldn't take away his pain, she couldn't even protect him when it mattered.

 

The whistle of the kettle dragged her away from her spiraling and Hoshiko collected herself before she brought everything back up to her room.

 

She couldn't stop the sigh of relief that escaped her when she saw Kokichi still there, waiting for her.

 

 

**May 22, 201X - 12:00pm**

 

“Congratulations on your score Kokichi,” Hoshiko said sitting down with him on the roof to eat lunch as Kokichi took the bento she had made for him. Kokichi was amazing, despite his injury he showed no signs of being hurt but Hoshiko still eyed him carefully. After everything that had happened last night she wouldn't be comfortable letting him out of her sight any time soon.

 

“I should say the same to you Hoshiko-chan! You got second in you’re class too didn’t you? We match!” Kokichi said excitedly as Hoshiko gave a dissatisfied hum at the thought of her own results in the midterms, usually she was top of her class but the new kid Saihara Shuichi had beaten her by one point.

 

She’d have to fix that.

 

Usually she didn’t really care about test scores as long as she scored well enough to keep her uncle off her back then it was fine, and her dad was happy as long as she was happy because he was the greatest father to ever father; test scores didn’t really matter but for some reason being beaten by one point like this irritated her.

 

She was dragged out of her thoughts as Kokichi have her a playful nudge “imagine how well we would have done if we actually studied instead of monster hunting,” Kokichi joked and Hoshiko let out a slight laugh, they had dedicated a lot of the time leading up to midterms looking for ‘the reaper’ as Kokichi had dubbed it. In fact Hoshiko was pretty sure she nearly fell asleep during the testing at one point after fighting a large number of shadows the previous night.

 

As always Kokichi made some good points.

 

“Did you congratulate Iruma-san on her score?” Hoshiko asked, she liked Iruma she was pretty and Kokichi had fun with her, “what?” Hoshiko asked curiously when she noticed Kokichi giving her a look.

 

“You could always say congratulations to her yourself” Kokichi told her and groaned when Hoshiko buried her face in her hands to hide a slight blush forming on her face “Seriously? It’s okay to have *standards* Hoshiko-chan, there are plenty of nice girls out there…” Kokichi said before making a face of mock concentration.

 

“Like Chabashira-chan!” Kokichi declared his eyes sparkling promising mischief, “In fact Chabashira-chan is such a nice girl I think I’ll go play with her tomorrow! You’ll have to watch to make sure she doesn’t throw me though,"

 

"Oh don't look at me like that Hoshiko-chan I'm fine!" Kokichi insisted when he noticed her dissatisfied stare.

 

**May 23, 201X - Dark Hour**

 

Hoshiko played with her gun, it was one of her favourite weapons due to it baring a close similarity to a M197 Vulcan as she watched the girl summon a staff and defeat a shadow, with a sigh Hoshiko switched weapons to a sniper rifle silently killing some shadows that were lurking out of the other girl’s sight. Chabashira thought she was on her own and it was probably best she didn’t feel too overwhelmed tonight.

 

Hoshiko could see why Kokichi was taking an interest in the kids of the dormitories, they had an impressive amount of potential, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Not when they were all so close to Harukawa. Not when they were putting him in danger.

 

It wasn’t that she doubted Kokichi knew what he was doing; she just wanted him to be safe.

 

**May 29, 201X - 12:30pm**

 

The Chabashira girl had been chasing Kokichi all day so far apparently she was upset about Kokichi luring her out during dark hour or something similar. Usually Kokichi told her to let him handle these kind of situations himself but Chabashira was getting in the way of lunch and Hoshiko had worked hard today’s lunch so she was stepping in.

 

Chabashira stopped in her tracks to avoid getting hit by the rock that Hoshiko threw at her looking slightly confused at the rocks sudden appearance before she let out a cry of alarm as Kokichi ducked behind a corner and out of sight. It looked like Chabashira was about to continue in her pursuit of him but Hoshiko quickly stood between the other girl and the direction Kokichi had gone off to.

 

At Hoshiko’s arrival into the situation Chabashira’s body language changed to one of nervousness, it didn’t surprise her despite her good grades Hoshiko’s reputation was one of a delinquent since she would skip class with Kokichi when he felt like it, she also got into fights with anyone who would try and bully Kokichi and since Kokichi was the type to piss people off most of the time she’s been in a lot of fights, a lot.

 

She’d won every single one of them too.

 

“Um, can Tenko help you with something Okumura-san? Tenko’s kind of busy right-“ she didn’t get to finish her sentence as she blocked a kick to her head with her arms a look of realization slightly passing her face before Hoshiko drew her leg back.

 

“Tenko doesn’t know why you think she’s going to hurt someone important to you but Tenko doesn’t just hurt people!” Chabashira declared nervously as she jumped back to barley avoid another kick.

 

Hoshiko stared at Tenko in silence watching the other girl fidget about nervously before she ran away in the other direction than Kokichi had gone after some hesitation clearly not wanting to fight through the schools strongest delinquent that day.

 

Once Hoshiko was sure she was gone she spoke out into the silence of the empty school yard “you can come out she’s gone now” the silence stretched out for a few seconds before Kokichi appeared from wherever he was hiding and tackled Hoshiko into a hug.

 

“Hoshiko-chan you saved me!” Kokichi said as she patted his head fondly and looked him over for any injuries, luckily for Chabashira there weren’t any.

 

**June 2, 201X**

 

Hoshiko frowned as she rode her motorcycle passed another empty alley, she’d been looking everywhere ever since Kokichi had called her asking for her help. Iruma Miu had gone missing and no matter where Hoshiko looked she couldn’t find her.

 

**June 4, 201X - Dark Hour**

 

Hoshiko frowned as she killed another wave of shadows with her handgun; Kokichi theorized that Iruma-san might have gotten lost during dark hour. It was a good theory and he was searching with the dormitory kids to keep them out of trouble and help them search too.

 

He’s sent her off to search other places during dark hour to cover more ground but this was all taking too long and the shadows seemed to be flocking to her tonight.

 

She didn’t have time for this; she hoped Kokichi was okay being grouped with a bunch of amateurs that barely knew what they were doing.

 

**June 5, 201X - Dark Hour**

 

Hoshiko spent the night trailing behind various dormitory groups preventing any major shadows heading their way and making sure that they didn’t run into any major difficulties while Kokichi searched Tartarus with these amateurs.

 

 She sighed as she sniped a couple of shadows that none of the group had noticed because two of them were busy arguing with each other. Why was Kokichi bothering with this group again?

 

They didn’t even find Iruma-san that night.

 

**June 6, 201X**

Kokichi gave her a few places he wanted her to check out, she was a bit worried when he didn’t meet up with her later that night but she trusted Kokichi he was probably fine.

 

**June 7, 201X**

 

She didn’t get to see Kokichi at all, he was nowhere to be seen. She hoped that he was okay because she definitely wasn’t.

 

**June 8, 201X - 1:12am**

 

The window was open for him just like it always was when he came to visit her but Kokichi had not come to see her, it was a bit worrying she thought as she passed around her room wondering why Kokichi hadn’t come to visit her like he always did.

 

She practically lunged at her phone when it buzzed her heart stopping when she saw the email in her personal inbox.

 

from:  **Ouma Kokichi**  <kinghorse@pmail.com>  
to:  **Okumura Hoshiko**  <rockst4r@pmail.com>  
subject: DON'T FREAK OUT!!!

 

hey hoshiko-chan!!

if you’re reading this, that means i didn’t stop it from sending to you :((( something must’ve happened to me :((((( , i'm also sending one of these to saihara-chan whos probably on his way to save me now so could you follow him to make sure he doesn't die b4 he can save me or sm, since you're probably freaking out dw i'm probably not gonna die or anything lol i'm probably just stuck in tartarus like that one time remember? anyway don't panic im gonna be fine!! saihara-chan's gonna come to the boys bathroom in the science hallway shortly before midnight to save me and hopefully he’ll end up around where i’ll be ^o^

don't panic and see you soon!!!  
your favourite person in the whole world<3

 

A scenario of everything that could go wrong ran through Hoshiko’s head at the end of the message and before she even realized what she was doing she was already on her motorcycle making her way to where Tartarus usually was during dark hour, there was no way to enter Tartarus outside of dark hour but that didn’t stop Hoshiko from spending the entire night trying.

 

**6:00 am**

 

She kept trying until her phones alarm went off telling her it was time for her to get ready for school. She ignored the early students coming in for various clubs and went straight to the boy’s bathroom in the science hallway and sat in a corner to wait.

 

People came in and gave her looks and teachers tried to get her to leave but she gave them glares that promised fates worse than death and they eventually left her alone.

 

She spent the rest of the day like that curled up in a corner of a boys bathroom waiting for when she’d get to see Kokichi again and know that he was safe.

 

**Dark Hour**

She raced round Tartarus searching for Kokichi as soon as dark hour hit barely acknowledging the shadows trying to attack her as she searched.

 

She doesn’t even check what she’s fighting, or how powerful they are or their weaknesses or strengths she just keeps looking for Kokichi getting rid of anything that gets in her way.

 

A shadow ambushes her but but it’s futile. She’s a tornado of movement with her swords breaking masks, slicing through shadows, and switching to guns before the shadow can even reel in shock.

 

          She feels disconnected from her body as if she’s merely a passenger as if she’s not even there, a fog of desperation and worry clouding her mind as her body moves on it’s own she’s not a part of this she’s only watching

 

A shadow six feet tall, assault rifle down it goes. Next.

 

Another shadow ice crackling around it she stomps down on it, then her own knee then moves up into it’s face. Sword out and it’s got no head. Next.

 

Shadow, five foot six, assault rifle. Next.

 

Fire swirls around another shadow. Fire doesn’t work on her. She grabs it’s hand and bends back, back. Until she feels it snap. Throws it to the side. Next.

 

Shadow, six feet three, pistol. Next.

 

Shadow. A shot through it throat. Next.

 

Shadow, pistol. Next.

 

Shadow, facing slightly away. Shot in the chest. Next.

 

 Shadow, assault rifle. Two shots in the knee. Down. Next.

 

Shadow, grenade. Next.

 

Shadow, Shot to the chest. Next.

 

         Next.

 

         Next.

 

         Next. 

 

“Hoshiko-chan!?” Her mind and body screech to a halt through the thankfully empty hallway and having just entered the hallway himself he was dragging an unconscious Iruma Miu, so he’d found her that was good.

 

The strange haze that had surrounded her since the 7th finally lifted at the sight of Kokichi in front of her giving her a sheepish smile as if he had been caught doing something he knew upset her “hey Hoshiko-chan, you didn’t freak out or anything because I told you I’d be fine-“ she didn’t let him finish his sentence as she rushed forward into a hug crying as she held him relief washing over her.

 

Kokichi gave a huff of fondness as he patted her back while her body was wrecked with sobs “Hoshiko-chan I know you love me and all but you can’t freak out over every little thing,” he said jokingly though he didn’t let her go or push her away simply continuing to rub her back soothingly while she got all the stress of the past few days out with her tears.

 

They stayed like that for how long she’ll never know, the two of them stuck in their own little world when suddenly a faint voice came from one of the staircases.

 

“-kamatsu-san?”

 

Hoshiko’s grip on Kokichi tightened at the sound of the slightly familiar voice but Kokichi just sighed and pushed her away “come on he’ll probably be here any second, get into a good position and cover us if we need it, don’t let anyone see you I’ve got enough to explain today” Kokichi said gesturing to Iruma who was laying on the floor and oh, she probably made him drop her that wasn’t good.

 

Honestly Hoshiko was hesitant to leave Kokichi’s side but she didn’t to make things difficult for him so with a hesitant nod ducking through one of the doors.

 

She watched as Kokichi hefted Iruma back onto his shoulder and had to hold back a laugh as he trip up Saihara rounding a corner. She watched the two boys talk and then watched as Akamatsu rushed towards them to check on Iruma and followed the group out of sight as they made their way through the hallways barley paying attention to their conversation.

 

“That’s common misconception; it’s-” Saihara’s sentence was cut off as he and the others suddenly disappeared with Kokichi.

 

“Kokichi!” Hoshiko cried out in alarm rushing not caring she was supposed to stay hidden to where they had stood but they were gone, teleported away somewhere, Kokichi was gone. Again.

 

The haze crept back in.

 

………………

 

……………

 

…………

 

………

 

……

 

…

 

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there blankly staring at the spot where Kokichi had disappeared but her eyes never left it until she heard the sounds of rattling chains.

 

The sound got closer and closer until finally she looked up and there he was the reaper. It was almost strange how he did not rush to attack her, merely staring at her as if he was observing her for a moment.

 

This strange silence between them continued for a few seconds the two of them simply staring at each other as if their gazes were battling for them until finally the reaper raised it’s gun.

 

She dodged leaning backwards as he fired bullet flying over her head and in a fluid motion she kick upwards his arm and gun being thrown up from the force of the motion a stray shot firing up into the air the bullet hitting the ceiling, continuing with the momentum of her kick she let it carry her backwards holding her arms how to push the movement forwards as she flipped away from the reaper who was already aiming another pistol in her direction.

 

“You know,” Hoshiko, said as she summoned her cannon, “you kind of caught me at kind of a bad time, plus I'm still mad over what you did to Kokichi so this probably isn’t going to end well for you”.

 

She fired and the battle itself seemed to burst into life.

 

Fighting the reaper she understood why Kokichi had wanted them to leave when they encountered it, no matter how many times she hit it, no matter how many times she injured it, it would heal itself.

 

That’s not to say that it was un-killable however, she was definitely doing damage.

 

Slowly but surely she was killing it. Everything could die, even death itself.

 

She kept on raising her own attack.

 

She kept on lowering the reapers attack.

 

Handgun.

 

Canon.

 

Sword.

 

She slashed through the reapers pistol, it raised its attack, she lowered it’s defense.

 

The more unstable weapons in her arsenal.

 

She rammed the lance into the reaper and in a fluid motion it transformed into a canon and fired still inside.

 

The reaper heals itself but she slashes it with a blade claw.

 

Shoot.

 

Stab.

 

Shoot.

 

Defense down.

 

Attack up.

 

What was she doing? Kokichi would probably have wanted her to run away.

 

Slash.

 

Stab.

 

Shoot.

 

The Reaper’s focused on her.

 

It didn’t matter though; it was easier to let her body move on autopilot like this anyway.

 

Dodge.

 

Parry.

 

Attack.

 

She jumped into the air, a white scythe forming in her hands, a weapon she had never summoned before, fire and electricity crackling around her as she slashed down.

 

Despite all its strength reaper burst into nothing just like any other shadow. The scythe disappeared almost automatically it flickering into out of existence as if she had only been able to bring it to life to fight this enemy. She sharp intake of breaths as she attempted to catch her breath and steady her heartbeat echoed throughout the empty hallway.

 

Her heart beat like a drum in her ears getting louder and louder when suddenly “wow remind me to never get you angry”.

 

Almost as if someone hat hit a switch she came back to herself her body no longer moving on autopilot and her thoughts suddenly felt more coherent as her head snapped towards the sound of Kokichi’s voice.

 

Suddenly back in control of her own body she rushed towards him looking him over for injuries he seemed annoyed by her inspective gaze his own gaze trained on certain point of her body and it was just then that she realized she was littered with injuries.

 

She tried not to wince as the pain suddenly hit her all at once at the realization and Kokichi’s neutral expression turned to a frown of concern and she immediately raised a hand to reassure him. Honestly she had gotten out pretty all right considering she had just fought The Reaper.

 

Oh holy shit she just fought The Reaper!

Holy Shit she just BEAT The Reaper!

 

Shaking her head because that was something to be thought about another time she turned to Kokichi questioningly “Kokichi what happened? You suddenly disappeared,” Hoshiko, asked eyes fixed on him almost scared that if she looked away he’d vanish into thin air again.

 

Kokichi gave her a shrug as if it wasn’t important his eyes trained onto something on the spot where The Reaper had once stood “nothing much got teleported into a boss battle and before you start I was fine the only danger there was Harukawa-chan” Kokichi said before rolling his eyes “god Hoshiko-chan worries too easily” he joked before going over and picking up the object that The Reaper had dropped.

 

He held out The Bloody Button for her to see giving her a slight grin “want to see what this opens before we have to leave?”

 

**June 12, 201X – 12:00pm**

“So Iruma-san’s in a coma?” Hoshiko asked taking another bight out of her food staring up at the sky from where she was sitting on the roof.

 

Kokichi shrugged as he played around with his rice pushing it in different directions with his chopsticks “something like that I’ll look into it” Kokichi said looking thoughtful.

 

Hoshiko hummed in agreement taking another bite of her food, if Kokichi was looking into it the matter would be as good as solved in no time, she had done everything she could do now so it was best to take a back seat on things until Kokichi got too involved again.

 

Besides Kokichi had ordered her to heal up after her battle against The Reaper and he had an unreadable look in his eyes so she wasn’t going to disagree. Kokichi was kind of the boss in their partnership anyway.

 

**June 21, 201X**

 

Kokichi never seemed to like his birthday; it was hard for him to properly celebrate it. Moments of peace, moments of happiness, they all seemed to cause him pain as if he felt like he didn’t deserve it.

 

A lot of people in the world knew that life wasn’t fair but their was a large part of Kokichi that ironically felt it was, that all the bad things that had happened to him were things he deserved. She hoped one day Kokichi realized that was the biggest lie of all.

 

Kokichi deserved so much better, he deserved the world.

 

But unfortunately she couldn’t give him the world, right now she could only give him this cake on a park picnic table and a plush stuffed toy horse head because she knew he liked to hug something in his sleep, he seemed to really like his present so she’d count that as a win but there was still a heavy strain to his smile as if there was a part of him that wouldn’t allow him to enjoy his own birthday.

 

Pretty soon he was going to try and hide away somewhere by himself. As if on cue Kokichi gave an exaggerated yawn and stretched his arms “well Hoshiko-chan this has been great but I should probably-“

 

“The dormitories!” Hoshiko yelled out interrupting Kokichi as he looked at her in confusion not quite believing that he’d been interrupted, Hoshiko cleared her throat awkwardly and continued “um, you should go see those guys at the dormitories, you’ve been hanging out with them a lot so their your friends right? It’ll be nice to see them on your birthday!” Hoshiko said floundering for an explanation to her idea, she honestly didn’t really trust the amateurs at the dormitories yet they didn’t know a thing about Kokichi, they didn’t know about her and they probably didn’t know that it was Kokichi’s birthday today but if he was at least with them then maybe Kokichi wouldn’t be left alone with his own thoughts.

 

Kokichi seemed to understand the strange attempt at a middle ground that she was trying to create something impersonal enough to not cause him pain thinking he didn’t deserve it but not completely isolating him either.

 

He seemed to weigh the pros and cons in his mind before a smile flashed across his face.

 

“That’s a great idea Hoshiko-chan! I’m sure Saihara-chan’s been absolutely dying to see me!”

 

She followed him to make sure he actually went to the dorms and stayed outside to make sure he hadn’t just gone to reassure her and that he wouldn’t just sneak away after a few minutes.

 

It wasn’t her birthday today but Hoshiko wished that one day Kokichi realized he deserved to be happy.

 

**July 9, 201X**

 

“Come on Hoshiko-chan don’t be mad at meeeeeee!” Kokichi whined as Hoshiko pouted while she applied more Aloe Vera to the bruises around Kokichi’s neck, she read that the gel could get rid of bruising but maybe she should go with traditional ice, but she didn’t want Kokichi to get a cold… what to do? First she’ll see if this works and if the bruises aren’t better the next morning then she’ll move onto ice.

 

“No! You went to Dark Hour with a bunch of amateurs who don’t know what their doing… and Harukawa but it’s not like she’s any better honestly without me to watch you and you got hurt!” Hoshiko said as Kokichi huffed and rolled his eyes.

 

“Hoshiko-chan I’m un-killable this is nothing!” Kokichi said pointing at a bruise on his arm causing Hoshiko to wince concern flashed through Kokichi’s eyes as he hurried to distract her “Hey Hoshiko-chan I think we should-“

 

“And Harukawa was mean to you…” Hoshiko interrupted him trailing off slightly a bitter taste in her mouth as Kokichi sighed.

 

“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about the sooner we get the useful people away from her the better, besides Iruma-chan woke up and she’s got some super fun powers now!” Kokichi said excitedly as he explained the abilities she had displayed with someone like Iruma-san around it was going to be harder for Hoshiko to trail the group but she’d manage she wasn’t going to leave Kokichi on his own again.

 

Kokichi’s phone buzzed dragging Hoshiko out of her thoughts and interrupting Kokichi’s story, Kokichi raised an eyebrow before picking the phone up and let out a laugh when he read whatever was on the screen “look at that Hoshiko-chan, Momota-chan unblocked me to apologize for last night! Isn’t that sweet? See? I told you I’m making friends!” he told her turning his phone around so the screen was facing her and she could read the message. Despite Momota having the wrong colors proving his instability he at least had apologized for something wrong he did to Kokichi, which is more than anyone had ever done before.

 

In fact Hoshiko thought as she wracked her brain trying to think of an example she thinks this might be the first time someone other than herself had ever apologized to Kokichi for something they did.

 

Most people just treated Kokichi however they wanted ignoring when he helped them and blaming him for when things went wrong. People would use him when they needed him and abuse and accuse him when they didn’t.

 

Someone other than herself actually apologizing and checking he was okay left a warm feeling in her chest. It was then that she decided that out of all the kids in the dormitory Momota was one she liked.  

 

“He’s blocked you again”

 

“What? Hey!”

 

**July 14, 201X - 5:45pm**

 

“Do you want me to beat him up for you?” Hoshiko asked as Kokichi cleared another level on the arcade game.

 

“No Hoshiko-can I don’t want you to beat him up for me” Kokichi said eyes glued to the screen in concentration his voice so full of fake cheerfulness that it physically hurt Hoshiko’s heart at the mask he was forcing on himself.

 

She had wanted to discuss the ‘escape’ website she’d heard some of the other students talking about with Kokichi today but with his current state she didn’t think that would be a good idea.

 

This was her fault Hoshiko thought as she stared at Kokichi who was pointedly not looking at her with a frown. She had never wanted to trust Saihara Shuichi from the start when he had first moved here. She had hoped it was just jealousy like Kokichi had joked about, she should have known to trust her instincts.

 

She should have stopped Kokichi when he told her excitedly yesterday that he was going to ask Saihara to join them in their climb up Tartarus and even started listing off things he’d like her to make as a welcome feast for adding another member to their ‘team’.

 

She should have stopped him, should have told him Saihara wasn’t worth the effort but she didn’t and now here they were, it would have been one thing if Saihara had just rejected Kokichi but the other boy had-

 

Hoshiko paused and took a deep breath to calm herself when she noticed her knuckles turning white as she clenched them into fists.

Use him when they need him, abuse and accuse when they don’t. Hoshiko thought sadly as she watched Kokichi clear another level in the game, soon enough he’d have the games all time high score.

 

Hoshiko had been right to doubt and distrust Saihara but as she watched the shadows behind Kokichi’s eyes darken she really wishes she hadn’t been.

 

**July 19, 201X – 1:00pm**

She was ranked second again in the finals but that was honestly to be expected, anyone who didn’t know Kokichi wouldn’t be able to tell but he’d been in a really bad mood for the past few days and it was hard to focus on studying when she was worrying about him.

 

The fact that she had scored only one point lower than Kokichi and Saihara had actually scored one point *higher* than him just showed how affected Kokichi had been by the incident a few days ago.

 

Kokichi was in another league than everyone else, heck they weren’t even playing the same sport. It was like Kokichi was in the world cup finals and the rest of them were playing foosball. He was so far ahead of everyone they could never see him so they accused and suspected him not realizing how isolated Kokichi felt from his own position with everyone so far away from him as well. There was no way the rest of them would be even close to matching up with Kokichi in fair circumstances.

 

The 'Saihara rejection' as Hoshiko had taken to calling it must have been worse than she thought. Despite Kokichi telling her not to she was definitely beating Saihara up when she got the chance she just had to make sure Kokichi didn’t care when she did.

 

**July 26, 201X**

 

Despite everything Kokichi wanted to talk to Saihara again, Hoshiko sighed as she leaned against the door of the dorms that she had just helped Kokichi sneak into, she thought they were over this.

 

“What are you doing here?” A harsh voice snapped her out of her thoughts and Hoshiko looked up to see Harukawa walking towards the dorms, that’s not good she better tell Kokichi it was time to leave.

 

“Hey I asked you a question!” Harukawa said angrily when Hoshiko didn’t acknowledge her and merely took out her phone and started texting Kokichi, she wasn’t really good with people, only a few so it was easier to just ignore the rest. “What did Ouma finally let you off your leash for the day?” Harukawa continued causing Hoshiko to finally acknowledge the other girl.

 

She guesses she’ll have to make small talk won’t she? Harukawa probably wasn’t going to leave her alone if Hoshiko just ignored her. “Do you still have your scars Harukawa-san?” Hoshiko asked simply thinking of her own scar on the side of her stomached that was still there despite all the time that passed.

 

Apparently that was the wrong topic to pic because Harukawa’s gaze darkened “Do you want to die?” Harukawa asked as Hoshiko tilted her head curiously to the side.

 

“Do you? I mean if I remember correctly I was the one who won when we fought” Hoshiko said and Harukawa continued to glare at her before clicking her tongue and walking away.

 

…Did? Did Harukawa just forget that she was the one who lived here and not Hoshiko? Weird.

 

Her phone buzzed as Kokichi sent her a picture of a strange creature she had never seen before.

 

[2:00pm] Kokichi: hoshiko-chan do you have any idea what the hell this is

[2:02pm] Hoshiko: can you eat it?

[2:02pm] Hoshiko: do you want to eat it?

[2:03pm] Hoshiko: I don’t know where to buy meat from whatever animal that is

[2:03pm] Hoshiko: What would I even make?

[2:04pm] Kokichi: not everything is about food hoshiko-chan!

 

**August 2, 201X**

 

“Hoshi-sempai sent Momota-kun home early from tennis club earlier,” Hoshiko to Kokichi as she walked in to find him already in her room, Hoshiko never really thought she’d be much good at clubs she didn’t really like the strict schedules and commitment not that it mattered much considering due to her reputation as a delinquent not many clubs even wanted her to join a lot of club leaders even being afraid of her.

 

But then Hoshi had offered her a place on the tennis team and she took it, it was good exercise and Hoshi was nice to her and he never forced her to interact with others and make things be awkward as long as she showed up to practice, won games and didn’t cause him trouble he let Hoshiko be Hoshiko she liked that. She’d be lying if she said that she didn't admire and respect him.

 

Kokichi hummed at the information but didn’t look up at her “and I should care about this why exactly Hoshiko-chan? He asked but the only response he got was a silent stare from her for a few moments before he finally sighed.

 

“I’ll check it out, but no promises” he told her and that was all she needed.

 

**August 7, 201X - 8:03pm**

 

Hoshiko watched as Kokichi talked with the dormitory group sighing slightly to herself, she still didn’t know why he’d bother with these guys sure some of them had potential but at most only Iruma-san came close to being worth it.

 

She was tuning Kokichi’s entire encounter with them out honestly it was basically the same thing every time when suddenly a chillingly familiar voice rang out causing Hoshiko’s back to straighten as she held her breath as she watched Kokichi’s encounter with Angie and Tsumugi, not good.

 

Eventually Kokichi moved away from the group sending a glare her way that screamed ‘see what they’re up to’ before the others caught up with him. Hoshiko didn’t like it, a frown clear on her face as she left Kokichi with the others and trailed after Angie and Tsumugi.

 

She was leaving Kokichi to fight one of the major shadows with a bunch of amateurs *again* to trail after her ex and her former crush… great.

 

“God says Hoshiko can come out now!” Angie called out once the two groups had separated a fair distance; of course she knew she was following them. After a moment she stepped in front of them.

 

“Ah! It’s so good to see you again, you know I’ve made the cutest Miku cosplay that would look just perfect on you!” Tsumugi said excitedly and Hoshiko tried not to wince as she thought about all the time she had spent as Tsumugi’s living dress up doll.

 

“Have you come for Angie’s guidance?” Angie suddenly asked,

 

“Still the granddaughter of a priest Angie” Hoshiko said simply hoping to shut the conversation down or at least move it away from religion she was not ready to talk about a third of humanities problems right now.

 

Angie nodded knowingly and continued speaking “Angie already knows that she was just wondering if Hoshiko was finally ready to come back”

 

“I’m not leaving Kokichi,”

 

Both Tsumugi and Angie rolled their eyes at Hoshiko’s statement and neither looked surprised. “Angie already knew that! That’s why God told her that Hoshiko wanted to know how to put Kokichi back on the right path!” and Angie laughed excitedly at Hoshiko’s stunned expression “don’t look so surprised isn’t that why you were following us? To get help in bringing Kokichi back to us?”

 

“Kokichi told me to follow you,” Hoshiko blurted almost defensively but that seemed to make Angie nod even more.

 

“Of course he did, see even Kokichi wants to come back but he doesn’t know how so he sent you to ask Angie for help, he’s a very silly boy acting so shy he should know Angie would welcome him always,”

 

Hoshiko remained silent as she took a step back but Angie was already closing the distance between them and pulling her into a hug “we just want Kokichi to be safe and happy, Hoshiko’s noticed it too that Kokichi’s not happy right? We can make him happy if he returns we can fix him, he can finally be at peace” Angie finally released her from the hug but still held her in place and looked into Hoshiko’s eyes head tilted questioningly.

 

“Don’t you want Kokichi to be happy?”

 

Not wanting to hear any more Hoshiko pushed Angie away and ran.

 

**August 8, 201X - 1:00am**

 

“Momota-chan had a second awakening he’s got defence powers,” Hoshiko looked up at Kokichi with a start, that was the first thing he had said to her since they had reunited after dark hour had ended. There was a certain… something in his voice that caused Hoshiko to smile.

 

“Sounds definitely not boring” Hoshiko noted as Kokichi nodded absentmindedly deep in thought before seeming to catch himself and looking at Hoshiko with an almost betrayed look on his face.

 

“What no! It’s Momota-chan don’t be gross!” Kokichi protested he whined when she only gave him a curious hum in response “come on whose side are you even on here!” Kokichi complained while Hoshiko gave him a soft smile.

 

“Yours Kokichi, always yours”

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun with this, as it shows the hints of just how important Kokichi can be to Hoshiko and her jealousy and mistrust of others in their relationship to him and her practically idolizing him. Also Hoshiko absolutely sits behind Shuichi in class and she glares at him constantly practically giving him a heart attack, he tells himself that she's not glaring at him and it's just is anxiety acting up but no Shuichi she is glaring at you you're not paranoid.
> 
> Hoshiko: I'm not jealous  
> Also Hoshiko: Saihara is a little bitch and can fight me I'm way better than that guy.


End file.
